Abstract/Summary

In Ethiopia, investment in rural water supply underpins the government’s
poverty reduction efforts. The challenge is huge: roughly 50 percent of
the (mainly rural) population still have no access to safe water, and the
country has the highest number of people in Sub-Saharan Africa without
access to improved water supply and sanitation. The consequences are
dire: every year, roughly 250,000 children die from diseases related to
poor water and sanitation, and many others face the daily grind of collecting
water from distant sources.